Styles & Storms Tell the Full Story Behind “Rumor” And the Reunion With Eddie Electra

By now, you’ve probably already heard the rumor that Heart Throb Mob’s best known song, also titled Rumor, has been available on all streaming services for some time. The credit goes to the fearless glam rock duo Emily Storms and Robbie Styles, who released the cover under their own names as part of their new musical project.

But that’s not all! What made the whole story even more exciting and created real buzz throughout the hair, glam, and sleaze community was the involvement of the legendary Eddie Electra, Robbie’s longtime bandmate from the iconic Peppermint Creeps, who joined this wildly positive project.

This is something the glam scene has truly been missing, at least the part of it based in the United States. Rather than tell you the whole story ourselves, we asked Emily, Robbie, and Eddie to share everything firsthand. They explained every little detail and left us with a pleasant problem because after answers like these, we’ll definitely need to do more interviews with them in the future.

See for yourself and enjoy!

1.Your first single as Styles & Storms is a cover of Heart Throb Mob’s “Rumor.” Why did you decide to introduce the band with this song instead of something original?

Emily: Well, at the time we made the decision to record it, we weren’t so much planning on creating a full band or releasing albums. I’ve always loved Heart Throb Mob and it made me very sad that you can’t really access their music easily—so I thought maybe we should do a cover of some of our favorite HTM songs so we could have them on Spotify if we wanted to listen to them. It really was just as simple as — I love this song and I want to make a version of it that’s recorded with modern technology and more easily accessible. The band concept sort of took off from there.

Robbie: Believe it or not, returning as a forward-facing band was kind of something of a happy accident. Emily and I have always wanted to continue making music and we’ve always wanted to cover Rumor. We were planning on doing this just for ourselves, but we started getting a sense that there was still a community of people that would be interested, and our friend Eddie had lined up an interview with Tease the Nation and it all grew bigger and bigger and we started thinking more and more seriously about what this all should look like. We are trying to carve out a slightly new sound here, one that loves and respects our influences while charting a course forward, that builds upon it. It’s a tricky balance. Original music is coming soon!

2.A lot of glam rock fans probably don’t know “Rumor.” What was it about that song that stuck with you all these years and made you want to bring it back?

Emily: There are so many great HTM songs. It was very hard to narrow down which song to record. Eat Your Heart Out and Credit Card Junkie were high in the running, too. Ultimately I felt like Rumor was the best fit for my voice. Lonny (Lonny Lovett – Heart Throb Mob’s singer) is a hard act to follow! He’s an incredible singer and lyricist. To your point about what stuck with me about HTM—they were such an iconic band and, in my opinion, they made some of the best glam songs written in the last 35 years. It’s a crime that their catalogue isn’t better preserved. They had a sound that was completely unique. In a world where everyone else was just trying to be a carbon copy of Motely Crüe, HTM was blending 50’s doo-wop music with glam flair and pop hooks. They didn’t imitate anybody. They were completely unique. I think that’s why people still love them today.

Robbie: That’s a huge factor in itself – more people should know about this wonderful song! Heart Throb Mob isn’t talked about nearly enough in the greater glam community. They were brilliant. There’s obviously the personal connection with our friend Traci who we miss dearly. Rumor is just one of many incredible songs by Heart Throb Mob that deserve more love and attention.

Eddie: “RUMOR” was a perfect choice for a myriad of reasons. Besides not only being a FANTASTIC song, the song also carries the reputation of being a “fan favorite” amongst HEART THROB MOB admirers across the globe! Speaking of “reputations”, it was also a tongue in cheek way to acknowledge and poke fun at the various and erroneous gossip we have heard about ourselves over the years, mostly spread by others who either weren’t there,had nothing to do with, or weren’t even born yet, concerning the “MySpace FAMOUS” version of PEPPERMINT CREEPS, our former band, a cadre we exclusively share that is unique to us, and ONLY us alone.

3.This release marks the first time Robbie has worked with Eddie Electra since Peppermint Creeps days and We R the Weirdoz album. How did that reunion happen, and what was it like getting back in the studio together?

Emily: I’ll let them answer that.

Robbie: Eddie and I share a special bond over a crazy and traumatic time in both of our lives. When I got the news that Traci was gone, he was one of the first people I called. Eddie the singer and songwriter is also someone I have a great deal of love and respect for, both with his contributions to Peppermint Creeps as well as his contributions to his previous band, Psycho Gypsy, and what he brought to Pretty Boy Floyd. I’m so happy we were able to work together here on Rumor, and that I was able to contribute to his music. I hope these are just the first of many collaborations.

Eddie: For me, it was very redeeming. The last record we did together, everything was very much “controlled” and manipulated. Our input was greatly stifled and as a result, that particular release – for me – is subpar to what came before. The cracks within the band was already well underway by the time WE R’ THE WEIRDOZ was released. This was an opportunity for us to all get back together and actually work on a project together with zero negativity, demands, or ego. With an open mind and “HEART”, we all listened to each other’s ideas, and made it happen, in unity. There was ZERO sabotage. Nobody secretly getting turned down in the mix or having their parts replaced here! It was truly a group effort.

4.The press release ties this recording to Traci Michaelz. Was honoring his legacy something you set out to do, or did that feeling come up naturally as the project took shape?

Emily: Traci was HTM’s drummer before the Creeps. He’s the one that introduced me to HTM. It would feel wrong to cover a HTM song without including Traci in some way. We changed a lot of things about Rumor when we covered it. For instance, I changed the lyrics in several places and Robbie changed the solo. One thing we did not change at all was Traci’s drum track. We went to great lengths to recreate his original drum track with painstaking accuracy. The finished product is, in effect, his drums—and I would have it no other way. He was a great friend and a huge influence. We will always shout him out and elevate his artwork where we can. He’s earned permanent place in this community.

Robbie: Absolutely. He’s a huge part of my life. He’s one of those larger than life figures and I feel so lucky to have known him, let alone been a part of his art. All that being said, Rumor is also a great song. It all took shape pretty naturally – we love HTM, we miss Traci and wanted to honor a somewhat under appreciated part of his work.

Eddie: Honoring Traci’s legacy is something that has always been very important to me. That’s why you will never see me out there unethically hawking goods from that time period, trying to rewrite history, nor pushing any reprehensible narrative the band as we knew it could ever still continue without Traci because it is impossible to do so. He was the heart and soul of that band. Period. However we CAN, WILL, and DO celebrate his legacy and will continue to do so!

5.You described your sound as a mix of Detroit rock and Hollywood glam. How have those two worlds shaped your songwriting and the way Styles & Storms sounds?

Emily: So I would be the Detroit part of that equation because that is where I’m from. Detroit has an iconic rock scene. I grew up listening to acts like the Trash Brats, the Demolition Doll Rods, The Gories, The Stooges, and Destroy All Monsters. If you listen carefully to music I’ve made in the past, like The Empires, you will hear the hallmark of that Detroit sound.

Robbie: Glam is an inseparable part of my musical DNA. I grew up on 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s rock. I worshipped artists like Bowie and bands like NY Dolls and Hanoi Rocks. There is a beautiful intersection of where glam rock and Detroit toughness meet – that’s the place we want to explore. There are a whole lot of glam bands keeping the community alive and that’s a wonderful thing. What being “glam” means has always been a topic for debate. We want to answer what glam punk can sound like in 2026, with our personal touches and instincts. We want to make a true effort to bring it towards something new and unexpected.

6.You two have been a couple for over twenty years now. How has that relationship influenced the way you write music and work together in the studio?

Emily: Yep! We actually met because my old band was scheduled to open for the Creeps when they played in Detroit. They ended up canceling that show but I met Robbie as a result and the rest was history. We’ve been a team for the last two decades so we know how to work together. I think being a couple in a band can either go very well or very badly—and that outcome depends on the stability of the underlying relationship. We’ve had 20 years to learn to work together so at this point we do it well. Collaboration and compromise are part of our daily life whether we’re making music or doing laundry lol.

Robbie: We know each others musical preferences pretty well and music has always been a huge factor in our relationship. Emily has introduced me to countless artists, bands, entire genres of music I wasn’t exposed to before and I’m definitely a more complete musician as a result of that influence. She’s my partner in all things and I truly believe we can accomplish anything we set out to. I’ve been lucky enough to see this in action firsthand in our decades together.

7.You both have been through a lot of bands over the years, but Styles & Storms feels like a fresh start. Does launching a new band at this point in your career feel different from when you were first starting out?

Emily: Absolutely— I know so much more about the process of making music and the business of managing a band than I did when I started out. I was only 15 in my first band and only 19 when I joined Fillmore Slim. There was a steep learning curve in those bands. I also learned a lot from watching other bands I was around—especially about what NOT to do. I think a lot of people starting out do not realize how many facets there are to running a band — even more so now in the age of social media.

Robbie: Yes it does. This is the first time we’ve doing things with a budget, for one! This is the culmination of everything we’ve learned over the years as musicians that have seen a lot of the ways bands fail. This is also the project most representative of me. My first band was when I was 15 and I had older teens making a lot of choices for me. Two years later I joined Peppermint Creeps and I have adults making a lot of decisions there and they didn’t always communicate or seek out my input. A few years later I was in an excellent band with Emily’s friend from Detroit, Tommy Peacock, who wrote some great rock music. This is the first time I have a true equal partner in the creative space with me.

8.With “Rumor” out now, what’s next for you? Should fans expect more singles, a full album, or maybe some live shows soon?

Emily: We are working on new music now and plan to release it shortly. We are working with our management to determine what that release will look like. Presumably, it will include a digital release and some form of physical media.

Robbie: More singles are in the works. The next will be an original song. Shows aren’t a priority just yet, but we’re certainly open to the right opportunities. With all the energy and focus on Rumor wrapping up, the focus shifts to finishing more songs.

Eddie: At this point in life, I just want to have fun and enjoy life. I welcome any opportunity for us to work together again in the future and see no reason why we can’t as long as we all continue to get along and are on the same page of things in whatever we decide to do. In addition we all plan to release stuff with our various projects. I for one, have inadvertently embarked on a new project that is will see me perform across various stages and festivals next year singing live and in full makeup and costume taking on the role of BOY GEORGE and Culture Club believe it or not! More on this exciting venture to come! Incidentally I have already recorded my version of Culture Club’s hit song “Church Of The Poison Mind” featuring Robbie Styles on guitar who has already filmed his scenes and will be appearing on the upcoming song AND Video to be released shortly after the “Rumor” video is released. I already have teaser clips up on the only place you can find me online (for now) my TikTok… @EddieElectra where I post frequently about ALL things that ROCK!

The official Styles & Storms ft.Eddie Electra video for the song Rumor is going to be aired exclusively in the next episode of Glamitarium.

Follow: Styles & Storms @ TikTok or @ Official Wesbiste and Eddie Electra @ TikTok

Photos: courtesy of Emily Storms and Robbie Styles

Share To The World